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Elmhurst Edges Vikings in Opening Conference Play
By Craig Pinley
CHICAGO, IL (January 12, 2003) - In some sports, the difference between winning
and losing can be measured in a matter of inches.
For the North Park University (NPU) men's basketball team, the difference
between winning and losing was exactly 15 feet - the distance from the free
throw line to the basket. On Saturday, the Vikings lost their second
straight game to open College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW)
play, dropping a 73-70 contest to visiting Elmhurst College after making
just three of seven foul shots in the closing moments while blowing an
eight-point lead.
While NPU struggled from the foul line late in the game, Elmhurst thrived,
hitting 11 straight free throws at one point during the final 6:43 in its
CCIW opener. The Bluejays
evened their record at 6-6 as Wayne Bosworth led all scorers with 19 points
while NPU fell to 9-3 despite 18 points by Lamar Townsend and 14 by Sneed
Deaderick
After Elmhurst scored seven straight points to take a 50-49 edge midway
through the second half, NPU scored eight consecutive points in a 2:01 span
to lead 57-50 after two Townsend foul shots with 8:43 left. The Vikings led
61-53 with 5:46 remaining after a
Deaderick three-point basket before the Bluejays got a three-point field
goal and a lay-up from Bosworth to tie the game at 64-all.
With 2:07 left, Irving Richardson made one of two foul shots to put NPU
ahead for its final time, 65-64. From there, Elmhurst reserve Adam Ackerman
starred, putting his team ahead with a fade-away jump shot and adding two
foul shots and another field goal within a 49-second span. Ryan Voss ended
Elmhurst's 8-0 spurt with two more free throws and NPU's Jimmy Mack missed
a three-point shot that would have tied the game in the final seconds as
NPU tried in vain to make a final comeback.
NPU entered Saturday's game shooting 62 percent from the foul line - the
worst record in the conference. The Vikings dropped their CCIW opener last
Wednesday (76-69 to
Millikin University) at least partly due to their 8-of-22 foul shooting.
The free throw shooting woes of late seem to have erased the positive
memories of a 9-1 start, NPU's best since 1980.
The Vikings will try to record their first CCIW win Tuesday when they
travel to Wheaton College for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
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